Gopal Gidwani | FinEdge

Investing Insights

Gopal Gidwani

Finance Content Writer

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience.

Apart from writing on savings and investments, in his free time, he loves exploring credit card rewards and loyalty programs.

He can be reached at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gopalgidwani/

Glass jar labeled retirement with coins and alarm clock symbolizing timely investment of retirement corpus

Where and How Should You Invest Your Retirement Corpus?

Retirement planning has two stages. The first stage is to work towards building a retirement corpus. You must save and invest regularly every month during your working years to build your retirement corpus. The second stage of retirement planning is to deploy the retirement corpus. You accomplished your financial goal of accumulating a retirement corpus. Now, it is time to deploy it so that you can enjoy your golden years. In this article, we will discuss the second stage of retirement planning, which deals with how to invest the retirement corpus.

Magnifying glass highlighting mutual funds, representing focus on international funds and LTCG tax changes in Budget 2024

Budget 2024: Change in LTCG Taxation on International Funds – Should You Consider Investing?

In the July 2024 Budget, the Finance Minister announced changes in the Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) taxation for some asset classes. These include equity fund of funds (FoFs), international equity FoFs, gold mutual funds, etc. Earlier, these were subject to taxation at the individual’s slab rate due to a change in the taxation of debt mutual funds in the previous budget. After the recent LTCG changes, the appeal of these asset classes has increased. In this article, we will understand what international equity mutual funds are, their features, how they are taxed, and whether you should invest in them.

Document labeled Investment Strategies on a desk, representing growth and value investing approaches

Investment Strategies: Growth and Value Investing

The stock markets go through various business/economic cycles of ups and downs from time to time. During these phases, various stocks do well based on certain criteria. For example, growth/momentum stocks usually do well during bull markets, and value stocks do well during bear markets. The investment strategy that you follow influences your returns. In this article, we will understand the various investment strategies and which one you should follow to maximise your portfolio returns.

Eraser removing the word debt, symbolizing debt repayment through snowball and avalanche methods

Debt Repayment: Debt Snowball vs. Debt Avalanche Methods

Debt can be a double-edged sword. It can be a boon or a bane, depending on the purpose for which it is used and how it repaid. It is a boon when debt is taken for meeting important financial goals like buying a house and regularly paying the EMIs.

Person checking their credit score of 751 on a laptop, with a credit health dashboard highlighting payment history, amounts owed, and credit history—reinforcing the importance of responsible financial behavior and informed investment decisions.

Ways of Improving Your Credit Score

When you apply for a loan/credit card, the bank considers various factors. Based on these factors, the bank decides whether to accept or reject the application, the loan amount/credit limit, the interest rate, and other factors. Some of these factors include your age, income, credit score, profession, repayment capacity, city of residence, etc. The credit score is an important factor, and having a good score is the key to getting the loan/credit card approved. In this article, we will understand some ways on how to increase credit score.

Business professional pointing at an upward-trending SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) growth chart, symbolizing the power of disciplined investing and long-term wealth creation through goal-based financial planning.

A Decade of Investing: Analysing Average SIP Returns in 10 Years

In the last few years, many retail investors have started investing regularly in mutual funds through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route. Also, the stock markets have done well in the last few years. During the Covid pandemic, the Nifty 50 Index fell to levels of around 7,500.

How to Create a Fund for Your Child’s Marriage Goal

Recently, in July 2024, Jefferies released a report on the Indian wedding industry. As per the report, the Indian wedding industry is valued at USD 130 billion, making it the second largest in the world after China at USD 170 billion.

Family with children enjoying a beach vacation, raising their hands in joy, symbolizing the fulfillment of life goals through disciplined financial planning and customized investment strategies.

How to Plan for Your Annual Vacation Goal?

Annual family vacations are something that most of us look forward to these days. What is your dream vacation destination? It is visiting a hill station/water park in the summer, chilling on the beach in winter, drenching in the waterfalls on a ghat/valley in the monsoons, scaling mountain peaks or exploring marine life with deep sea diving.

Illustration symbolizing mutual funds with interconnected investor icons and a dollar symbol, representing the collective nature of fund investing—used to question whether chasing last year’s top-performing mutual fund schemes is a wise strategy.

Should You Shift Every Year to Last Year’s Best-Performing Mutual Fund Schemes?

At the start of every calendar/financial year, most media houses, investment firms, etc., come out with the list of best-performing mutual funds in the year gone by. The list is presented in the order of returns. Some investors compare the returns of last year's best-performing mutual fund schemes to the schemes in their portfolio.

Notebook showing a pie chart labeled Asset Allocation, with segments for stocks, bonds, and real estate—emphasizing the importance of diversification and strategic portfolio design in long-term wealth creation.

Election Results Shock Markets: Does Asset Allocation Make Sense in Times Like These?

On 4th June 2024, the stock markets fell sharply in response to the election results. While the markets recovered over the next few sessions, days like these emphasise the importance building a diversified portfolio. In this article, we will discuss what is asset allocation, the types of asset classes and their role, and how having a diversified investment portfolio can give better risk-adjusted returns.

Stack of gold bars and coins representing a surge in gold prices, reflecting investor interest during economic uncertainty and prompting questions about whether gold should be part of a diversified investment strategy.

Gold Prices Have Hit an All-Time High: What Is Driving the Rally, and Should You Invest?

The financial year 2023-24 was one of those rare years when most asset classes did well. Equities gave good double-digit returns. The interest rates on many fixed-income products, like bank fixed deposits, corporate bonds, etc., were at multi-year highs. Gold also did well on the back of high inflation, geopolitical instability, etc.

A close-up of a golden hourglass with white sand flowing from the top chamber to the bottom, placed on a wooden surface, symbolizing the passage of time and waiting period.

What Are the Different Types of Waiting Periods in a Health Insurance Policy?

How will a health insurance company respond in the following scenarios for individual health insurance policies?